6/11/2006

These are the things that are currently causing me varying levels of anxiety. I'm doing OK otherwise, except when I start thinking about one of these situations and then get all tangled up about it.

We have critters in our attic. I assume they're possums, but we haven't eyeballed them yet. But we can hear them up there. Our attic is unfinished and we don't store anything up there, but still you don't want them chewing up all the insulation and pooping everywhere. We're renters, and we're vegans, and the whole situation is very difficult. Will our landlord do anything about it? will they be destroyed or relocated? if we wait too long what might happen? Do we want to try to humanely trap and relocate them ourselves? Ack. It's incredibly stressful.

I need to get some suspicious-looking moles checked by a dermatologist. My health plan supposedly lets you visit anyone you want -- but if you want higher coverage, they have to be in-network; and for the best level of coverage you need a referral from your primary care doctor. I've collected recommendations from people I know and have found two derms who are in the network. But I'm dreading dealing with the process of getting a referral. I don't know if they're going to make me come in and pay for a useless appointment with my PCP or if we can just do it over the phone. And then there's trying to make the appointment with the doctor I need to see. Errrggghh. Did I mention that I hate seeing all doctors and have a lot of anxiety about dealing with them in any way?

Some would say I should have a physical with a regular doctor this year. But I don't particularly like my PCP. I got a recommendation from a colleague for someone else who is supposedly wonderful; but when I called on Friday apparently she's not taking new patients from my insurance (even though their web based directory said she was). It's almost impossible to find a female doctor who isn't based at a large teaching hospital (which means your exams are usually performed in front of med students, which is a pedagogical environment I'm not particularly comfortable in). The only smaller, neighborhood alternative I've found is a family practice office, which makes me nervous because of all the kid germs.

I have an overdue dentist appointment on Tuesday for a cleaning. All spring I would occasionally think to myself, "I must have a dentist appt coming up soon" -- but then I never did. Because I now remember that when I saw her last July, her clerk didn't have the January calendar open yet for the following year when my 6 month appointment would be due. I forgot to call, obviously. But you'd think they might have sent me a reminder? I doubt I have any cavities because I was genetically blessed with solid enamel. But I always fear getting a bad grade on my gums. I'm a regular brusher and 3-4x/week flosser, but now I'm nervous about the days I've skipped flossing over the past few months.

I want new tires on my car, because the tires that came on it suck in rainy weather. I mean really, really, suck. But it's a big expense, and then there's the burden of researching tires etc. In the past I've done OK with simply walking into the tire center and asking what they have available in my size, then picking by price range. I could do that again. But since this is really an optional purchase -- my tires are not worn down (I've only had the car a year) -- they just feel unsafe because they're not as grippy as I like -- I'm dithering a little more about it than I usually would.